Of course, they could just hire more people producing paying jobs and a built in learning path through the RE process world.
If ALL the powers at large really wanted to promote RE, solar PV, solar thermal, wind, etc., they would cut the crap out of the regs and just let people install it, leaving the protections at the equipment mfg's process level, IEEE specs etc..
Automating over regulation (Urban areas) does not make a bad thing good, anymore than self service equals customer service.
But of course that is not on their best interest to do list. Same with EV's.
Regarding the grounding of PV arrays, that can have negative effects over letting them float. Talking about regs in general, when I changed my overhead power service to underground, I installed a separate 8' copper clad ground rod and #4 copper run to the meter base itself. On my house system with all my PV ground arrays, I have an entire ground array consisting of 13 ground rods all linked together. Back many years , I had a lot of problems with lightning hits and I re-did and added grounding in key places. But when the local inspector came and saw the direct ground on the meter base, I had a 30 minute delay with it connected because the person on the other end of the phone did not like it. SO to get the process done in the moment with all the PPL guys standing around looking to finish, I disconnected it. It was then approved and they were able to finish. From an engineering perspective, the ground as installed was an improvement in lightning safety, in direct conflict (Apparently) with the "regs" on the other end of the phone.
Unfortunately, situations like this are NOT uncommon.
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william fitch
Owner
www.WeAreSolar.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 12-28-2023 09:54 PM
From: Kat Friedrich
Subject: Article on NREL's SolarAPP+
I just wrote an article on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's SolarAPP+ software. Here is a link to it in Ars Technica. It's nice to see that it has sparked a lively discussion in the comments section about the convenience and ease of solar permitting. Ars Technica is one of my freelance clients where I work when I am not in the office at ASES.
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Kat Friedrich
Editor in Chief
American Solar Energy Society
Monona WI
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